CULLEOKA, Tenn. - As the nation paused to honor the working people Monday, a Maury County family worked to salvage what they could.
They're home was destroyed into a pile of burnt debris after it caught fire in the early morning hours.
"There ain’t no rebuilding, it’s done," Sloan Cheatham said.
Cheatham and his girlfriend, Lacey are musicians. They lived in the house with another member of the family.
"How much did you lose? Everything, like two generations of memories, all of our belongings, pictures," Cheatham explained. "I just bought a new guitar last week, it’s gone," Lacey said.
They said a woman who lived in the home has special needs and was up and actually smelled the smoke but went back to bed. Thankfully, Cheatham was up a little later and alerted everyone.
"We just got out of the house and called 911," he said.
Crews were at the scene for hours, and it’s believed the fire began in the laundry room.
"I almost opened the door to the laundry room, but it was hot so Sloan told me to get out," Lacey explained.
Everyone got out safely, even the pets. "It was already on fire, we were out of the house and it dawned on me the cat is still in there. We weren't going in to get the cat but he made it out, he's fine," Cheatham said.
However, a few irreplaceable items were lost in the fire. "My family bible and all that stuff is gone," said Lacey.
They're not sure how or if they're going to rebuild, but they're just thankful everyone is safe.
